Web Address as Brand.
It goes without saying that your web address is part of your overall brand. The challenge of using some blogging systems is that your web address might have another brand embedded within it. If your publication’s title is “Magazine Monthly” and you’re using Google-owned blogspot, the web address would be magazinemonthly.blogspot.com. The better option, if you have available resources, would be to not only purchase the domain name of magazinemonthly.com but variations that might be used by your audience. Some variations might be magmonthly.com, magazinemonth.com, and magazine-monthly.com. For the really adventurous brands, try www.domai.nr, where you can find alternative domains, such as magazinemonth.ly or magazi.ne/monthly (monthly would be a subfolder).

Customize the Design.
There are hundreds of templates built using blogging software that can be further customized to visually relate to your print publication (if you have one). You may not get exactly what you want, but if you can let go of some of the details, you can get close. The key to using existing templates is the grid. Just as you would start by defining a grid system for your print publication, you need a strong, flexible grid in web design. Find a template with a good grid and let your web consultant apply your visual identity as best he can.

Maintaining It.
Many smaller publications cannot afford to build out a customized content management system (CMS). Blogging software comes with an easy-to-use CMS built in. It will take some time to learn the interface of the system, but for the most part they are WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) applications. Everybody’s favorite commands of copy and paste will work to get your text into the text editor. Uploading photos and videos is usually just a couple of extra clicks of the mouse. Many of the systems also allow you to customize access for the many people who maintain the website: For example, administrators who manage the site can access the entire CMS; editors are able to access articles and accept or decline comments; and contributors can post articles.

Examples.
WordPress: Go to wordpress.com to get your free (mydomain.wordpress.com) WordPress blog, or visit wordpress.org to download the system and apply it to your own domain name.

Typepad: Created by Six Apart, which also developed Movabletype, Typepad is a blogging and social networking development platform.

Blogger: Google owns this blogging platform. Strangely, when you create a blog, it’s not myblog.blogger.com, it’s myblog.blogspot.com.

Wicked Tasty Harvest: This is our latest redesign of a blogging template; it is built on the Typepad system. Check it out at www.wickedtastyharvest.com.

Take time to conceptualize visuals. Brainstorm beyond your first idea. Think about different ways that visuals could enhance the material: For illustrations, what style would be suitable? If you’re using photography, would color be better, or black and white? Would incorporating infographics be appropriate? Uncover the theme of the material and develop ideas that will bring the core message to the surface.

Brainstorm with your team. Discuss the goals of the piece. What is the message, and how can that message be conveyed visually? Be willing to share ideas, even ones that might not come to fruition—one person’s initial thought can evolve into a well-developed concept. It can be tempting to try to come up with a final solution quickly, but it is important to remain open to ideas at this stage.

Begin the creation of imagery. If you are used to working with stock photos, creating the imagery can be a nerve-wracking process. You are now responsible for developing the perfect image, not retrofitting an existing one. You have to find the right artist to visualize your message and communicate it clearly. You don’t want to stifle the artist’s creativity, but you also want to make sure that he or she understands the editorial direction. Most illustrators share sketches, and this allows for a checkpoint on direction. But unlike stock, you can’t alter what you get in the end, so the direction needs to be clear.

Don’t forget the editorial. The collaborative process of creating imagery means that multiple creative people are bringing their talents to the project. Be open to direction and look at strengthening the piece by fine-tuning the editorial after the final imagery is delivered. It is that last touch that can take a piece to the next level.

1. Design and Edit. There is nothing as powerful as a layout that has a well-conceived connection between edit and art. Work closely with your editors to connect the story to the design. An evocative headline and descriptive deck should capture the reader and round out the visual elements.

2. Typography. Explore typographic solutions to a design. Look at pushing the limits of your type palette—roman, bold, italic, all caps, all lowercase, large, small, serif and sans serif combined. Play around. And if you’re looking for a unique headline font, there are hundreds of beautiful, well-designed fonts to choose from. Two of our favorite foundries are Font Bureau and Hoefler & Frère-Jones.

3. Design Basics. Scale. Cropping. Negative space. You may not have used these terms since college, but getting back to basics can bring new life to your designs.

4. Imagery. Rules, boxes, dingbats, and graphic forms can illustrate concepts and help create dynamic designs. And while you don’t want to replace professional-quality photography completely, there are some budget-conscious ways to add imagery to your layouts: Consider creating your own images. Combine a selection of photos to make an energetic collage (check out New York magazine’s Party Lines section as an example). If your department has a good digital camera, you can shoot still-life photographs to act as backdrops for your designs. Placing items directly on your scanner can lead to interesting results as well.

5. Color. Last but not least, color can add richness and meaning to a design. Expand the application of your publication’s color palette to keep the pages fresh and inviting. Look at working with colors that have a similar value range so the design doesn’t become like a rainbow. Stay away from introducing new colors, or you will end up expanding your palette too much and watering down your publication’s brand.